With last week’s major announcements of Dayton-area projects from Procter & Gamble and Fuyao, officials highlighted the state’s private development arm, JobsOhio, in making them happen.

“We chose Ohio because I could see the pro-business environment here, as well as the strong background in manufacturing,” said Dewang Cao, chairman of Fuyao Group, as he announced he’d bought a large part of the former GM Plant in Moraine for $15 million. His group will spin up a new company, Fuyao America Glass Inc., invest $200 million into the 100-acre site, and create 800 jobs.

This came just after officials from JobsOhio announced the facility under construction in Union will be for Procter & Gamble, and create another 800 jobs.

As he gave the closing address at the I-70/75 Development Association meeting at Sinclair Community College, Ohio Gov. John Kasich was quick to pin the wins on JobsOhio — the sometimes-controversial privatization of state economic development efforts.

“We want to remove the job creation engine from the bureaucracy,” Kasich said.

Indeed, local officials have said JobsOhio is the epitome of a new local focus, with government, private development groups such as the Dayton Development Coalition, and industry working together on jobs projects. The region, hurt by losses from General Motors, Delphi, and NCR Corp., has learned some lessons, leaders said.

“I’ve never in 40 years seen a transaction where the public side of the deal was more important to making the deal happen,” said Stu Lichter of Industrial Realty Group, which sold part of the plant to Fuyao.

Dave Burrows, vice president for development for the Dayton Development Coalition, said fast response was essential in winning Fuyao project. What started as a cold call about the plant became a fast-unfolding series of events that culminated in a trip to China, at the invite of Cao.

“We had to send (Kristi Tanner, a managing director at JobsOhio) to China with only a few weeks’ notice to observe the opening of a Fuyao plant at Chairman Cao’s invite,” Burrows said. “That’s moving at the speed of business.”

It also required support of county officials, as well as reaction from Vectren and Dayton Power & Light so the development officials could present Fuyao with its complete sense of the property as quickly as possible, he said. When the company had interest in the property, its concerns and interest hinged on its condition. Cao said it ultimately realized it would save money developing the Moraine site as opposed to building something new.

“We were able to lay out on the table, very quickly, what we had and what they needed,” Burrows said. “The region was already collaborating.”

Kasich, who stands for re-election this year, has made jobs his central platform, and said Ohio has improved from 48th place to 6th place on jobs.

The projects could make Dayton more of a focus to the debate over JobsOhio. Ed FitzGerald, Kasich’s democratic opponent, has been vocal in criticizing the group for what he has said is its lack of transparency. Last year, State Auditor Dave Yost tried unsuccessfully to audit JobsOhio.

But, as Kasich told the crowd last week, for him, the organization gets results.

“JobsOhio is the preeminent organization in the country connected to development,” Kasich said. “I think you’ll see other states convert to that model.”